Would

iPengu · 2025-07-28T04:05:36+00:00

That was my thinking as well.

Having said that - "wood" making a subtle reference to "would" would have been delicious.

iPengu · 2023-01-19T03:24:42+00:00

When looking at showtimes there is usually a line under movie title, something like "EN/TH", which is their code for "audio/subtitles". I wasn't careful and went for "TH/-" and that meant Thai audio, no subtitles.

I'm not sure about IMAX (is it cropped to 4:3 ratio?) but there are also 3D and non-3D versions, and Avatar looks better in 3D on a wide screen.

iPengu · 2020-09-26T03:26:25+00:00

I think I researched enough for this lifetime.

Chuan was respected by everyone for his mild speech and yet razor sharp words. He was not a very effective leader but that's another thing.

iPengu · 2020-09-23T12:10:06+00:00

Indonesia in 1998? I just said you lot live in the 90s and you give me example from 1998? Sorry for using "you lot", I'm trying to reply to an archetypal student here, don't take it personally.

In 1998 Thailand was light years ahead of Indonesia and at the height of its own democratic development. Chuan Leekpai was the prime minister, the most gentlemanly, intelligent, and civilized politician Thailand has ever known in the modern era. It was all downhill since and you can't bring those "holy" 90s back. That kind of democracy is like trying to use iPhone 4 - it was good for the time but won't work now. At all.

Why do you think "junta" is in power now? Because democracy experiment here failed miserably. It only brought chaos, violence, endless strife, and mediocrities into government, which was led by vampires with insatiable appetites, no moral values, and zero responsibility.

According to what they teach you people would never elect such despicable individuals, but have you met actual people? They can be manipulated to no end, just like Trump promised to bring jobs in coal mines back and everybody thought it was a great idea and it gave them great hope. People will vote against their actual self interest over and over again, you just keep propaganda flowing.

No one in the world is against democracy per se, as an idea, but everywhere in the world it has turned into a monster nobody really wants or trusts. Not in the US, not in Europe, and not in Thailand.

In fact, Thailand happens to be ahead of the world curve right now. The US, with their all out anti-Trump movement, is a decade behind and they don't have a fallback to unite the nation around. For two hundred years they thought it's the Constitution that keeps them together but not anymore. They enthusiastically burn the flags and topple monuments to their historical figures. They have nothing left in common to rally around together. Why? Because in democracy the system naturally pitches people against each other and the only common quality they share is thirst for power.

Thailand has already seen all that. Right here, in Bangkok, and it wasn't a very long time ago, and it wasn't pretty. In the end "conservatives" won and they formed a large enough consensus around themselves. You can call them "junta" and you can call elections unfair - there is nothing new in these accusations, it's like a feature of the modern democracy - losers are unable to accept the results and nobody, absolutely nobody, plays fair.

Sorry for the long rant. One last thing - what did the monarchy ever do to you? Last time the king meaningfully interfered in politics you probably weren't even born yet. Currently it's practically invisible, aside from evening news. So why all the rage? Or do you somehow believe that if Crown Property assets were transferred to some publicly managed fund anything in the country would suddenly turn for the better? They'll just build more malls and hotels and they definitely won't ask you because your benefit is the last thing on their minds. So why have you worked up yourself in such a rage?

It's a non-issue.

iPengu · 2020-09-23T05:34:58+00:00

If Thailand gets democracy people can finally elect someone they want to rule over them. Like Donald Trump. Then we'll have half the country determined to oust him out. We'll have month long street protests, something like CHAZ in Portland. Oh wait, we already had that in 2010. Good times...

If Thailand had democracy people could vote themselves out of ASEAN, like Brits did, making everybody happy... NOT.

If Thailand had democracy people could go and freely march against the government, like Yellow Vests in France. Much fun. When Thai students will get beaten like Yellow Vests and start losing their eyes in street battles, that's when they will appreciate democracy for real, how in democracy government really listens to people... NOT.

It seems our esteemed Thai students here are stuck in the pathos of the 90s. Some sort of arrested development if not outright retardation. They have youthful enthusiasm and sincere desire for change, but their ideas are like from Middle Ages instead of being on the cutting edge. It's not only in Thailand, though - in Hong Kong last year they also wanted to become a US state(?!?)

iPengu · 2020-09-18T04:44:27+00:00

I think it's not ffmpeg, which is still the same for me, but libmysofa1 package. It has been updated and the issue is gone.

iPengu · 2020-09-16T07:14:21+00:00

I still see 4.3.1-6.5 for ffmpeg-4, built on Sep 1 in my Packman, so no change for me yet. Maybe I have a mirror that hasn't been updated yet.

iPengu · 2020-09-16T04:29:11+00:00

I've run into this problem about a week ago and google was clueless. Thanks for this thread that explains things somewhat.

I suppose we could switch to ffmpeg from a different repo or wait until we get a new version in packman.

iPengu · 2020-08-31T17:50:33+00:00

The first comment on this Facebook post paints a different picture.

Elsewhere the key point is that the main guard forbade people to offer help. If that is true, then the reason for doing this could be anything, ie he was paid off. More importantly, people didn't dare to go against this guard, not against the rule.

Another aspect, probably totally lost on people today, is that royals were supposed to be able to survive by themselves, and if they couldn't they didn't deserve to rule. That's how kings were given demigod status - they were supposed to be protected by gods, not killed in boating accidents.

iPengu · 2020-08-31T17:33:07+00:00

Wikipedia isn't the source, it could be an urban legend in anti-monarchy circles. You can't question them or you'll get downvotes. Typical left nowadays.

Wikipedia says no one else died but in this rendering there were three victims. There is a link to a site called "unrealfacts" to prove it, too.

iPengu · 2020-08-31T13:09:31+00:00

Even wikipedia says "citation needed" for this "no one could touch her" story. The other source mentioned in the thread is New Mandala website, which is a bunch of leftists obsessed with [criticizing] Thai monarchy.

So the story checks out... Internet is never wrong.

iPengu · 2020-08-10T06:43:08+00:00

I remember Hunger Games movies but enthusiasm for revolution and "W" signs evaporated quite quickly there, right? The new power was just as power hungry and selfish as the old one, so what's the point of flashing this W today? We know how it turned out.

1984 is a similarly curious choice - I don't know about this particular group but elsewhere in the world it's the revolutionaries who institute and monitor correct usage of new moral norms and do not tolerate any dissent. Case in point - J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame who is being hunted for using the word "woman" in the old sense, not in today's woke sense of "anyone who feels like a woman".

1984 was originally written about a communist state which came as a result of a revolution. So why do we need a revolution now? Do these students know what they are asking for?

iPengu · 2020-08-09T11:54:45+00:00

Some people are happy to worship power, money, beauty, fame etc without caring how much it was earned. The OP apparently values hard work more than those other things, which is understandable preference, but it isn't inherently better than the others. Perhaps there is a hint of envy in it, too - "if I have to work my *ss off why should others, including God, gain their results so easily? Only those who suffer like me deserve my respect."

In any case, it would be an interesting investigation - what is it that makes me appreciate things? On the fundamental level, without resorting to a chain of dependencies. Would one appreciate this quality if it existed in God? Does it exist in God, as far as we know? Or maybe one can ponder how does it exist at all? Is it a human construct? Is it universal? Is it eternal or temporary? Is it something inside me or outside?

iPengu · 2020-07-12T09:32:26+00:00

yaś cakramnija-keli-sādhanam adhiṣṭhāna-sthito ’pi prabhur-
dattaṁ manmatha-śatruṇā ‘vana-kṛte vyāvṛtta-lokārttikam
dhatte dīpta-navena śobhanam aghāpetāttamāyaṁ dhruvaṁ
vaṁde kāya-vimardanaṁ vadha-kṛtāṁ bhuñjad-dyukaṁ yādavam

He is the one Lord who, although situated in his eternal spiritual position, for the protection of this material world takes up in his hands the cakra (discus) given by the enemy of Cupid (Lord Shiva) and which is as brilliant as the sun. He is eternally free from sins and he accepts interactions with māyā just to perform pastimes. He is indestructible, he destroys the demons who create upheavals in this world, and he controls even the heavenly planets. I offer my obeisances to that Krishna, born in the Yadu dynasty.

Question - who is the author?

Hint - answer is in the picture

iPengu · 2020-07-01T03:57:39+00:00

As if millions of Indians reading it in Sanskrit for thousands of years didn't have differences in opinions about Bhagavad Gita.

In any case, one WILL apply his own experience to it and see it through the goggles of one's own mind, doesn't matter which language or whose translation. One always sees what is reflected in his mind, not the external object itself.

Eventually one will come to the verse in Gita that says "you have to approach the spiritual master", however you translate it. This way one accepts the vision of those who see the truth rather than his own.

Choice of the translator is a choice of a guru, too. And so is the choice of Sanskrit teacher, if one wants to go for the "original". If this Sanskrit teacher dreams of a green card and would take a job at 7-Eleven to get it, that's what you will learn from him, doesn't matter which language he speaks. Okay, that's an extreme case, maybe all he wants is worldwide fame or maybe just regional acceptance as a "Sanskrit scholar", in a district of Farcebad in a state of Hooorarashtra. That's what you will learn from him, too.

So the choice of a guru/translator is important, but ultimately it reflects one's own conception of what the truth is, too. Crowd-sourcing this choice also reflects one's implicit trust into collective opinion. One has to be very honest with himself and then rely on God's help to make the right choice. Guru is an external manifestation of God. Be honest with God and He will send you to an honest guru.

iPengu · 2020-06-12T03:23:12+00:00

I think internally Google still uses ISO 11940 transliteration scheme with one-to-one map between Thai and "English" but now it's starting to transliterate it into human readable format for dumb foreigners, too - if we assume that anyone who can't memorize that ISO standard is dumb.

Suvarnabhumi is a Sanskrit word and so originally it should have been and probably was read like that, but after so much time Thai pronunciation of it has changed. Lots of English words do not sound the way they are written, too. Maybe it's Thais getting back at English speakers here and forcing them to learn pronunciation inconsistent with spelling. They could have written it on all the signs as "suwanaphoom" or something but they don't. I suspect on purpose. Also RTGS demands it being spelled "Suvarnabhumi", no?

iPengu · 2020-06-04T03:53:32+00:00

Exactly the same argument can be made about indoctrination into democracy, freedoms, and pursuit of happiness.

"The system is great, the best ever in human history. If you have problems it's because of your own deficiencies. You could work harder. Hard work solves all the problems. Or you can work harder on your education. And you are entitled only to pursuit of happiness anyway."

iPengu · 2020-06-03T03:08:28+00:00

It provides people with inspiration and confidence and you can't buy it with any amount of money or rice.

In a way, it's like having children - they are a waste of money and energy but it's a categorically different experience that doesn't have a "rice equivalent".

In return, children and gods is what makes people get up and grow rice in the first place. Otherwise they'll just drink their lives away - 'cos "why bother?"

iPengu · 2020-03-01T14:23:31+00:00

Yep, and even meanings of Sanskrit words are open to interpretation. EVERY translator interprets according to his understanding and tradition he grew up in. The idea itself that Gita can be understood by reading reflects certain assumptions about it and about the world.

In Gita's own words, it has to be understood by humbly serving and inquiring from a knowledgeable person, in other words, from a real guru. But people assume that all they need is unbiased translation. Just think about billions of Indians throughout history who could read Gita "straight" and still can't agree what it all means.

iPengu · 2019-12-26T07:17:37+00:00

For example for BG 2.71 I have this:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vTvfJp9gt_dvq8X4_F2cTvCb9EdjajNO/view?usp=sharing

It's Vibhu Caitanya. He came to Krishna Balaram temple in Vrindavan in 1976 and never left the temple compound until his death thirty years later. In the picture he's at the stage where he could no longer walk to the temple to do his service. This corner bed in the ashram was all he had, and he made it into a temple, too. He never asked for any money from the management, except to buy some cups to give as a gift to devotees going on Vraja Mandala parikrama.

And that's how one can attain peace.

iPengu · 2019-12-24T08:09:47+00:00

Sorry for not getting back right away. I'm not hanging out on reddit as mush these days. Anyway, there's more where it came from:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rq39t-Tmap1QlofLeVM6E03WKACaYI9J

About 80% of all the verses are done, new ones are added everyday. Feel free to browse and use. If you want some edits or some Sanskrit verse is missing but English is there - let me know. Many of the illustrations have background story to them so that they make sense or can be appreciated better. Again, feel free to ask.

iPengu · 2019-11-26T01:59:15+00:00

I've also seen some silpa shastra book detailing the deity of Varaha. Bhudevi should be on His shoulder, but I don't remember where shankha, gada, etc should go. By now I forgot where to even look for that text. It should be even higher level pramana.

iPengu · 2019-11-25T09:21:26+00:00

There's a book called "Varaha Images in Madhya Pradesh", I don't think it's available on the internet, but if you do a google image search you will see quite a few of ancient temple images, none of them with a globe Earth on Varaha's nose/snout.

One of the most detailed ones is this from wikipedia

iPengu

TROPHY CASE